Kung Fu Styles

For those of you looking to expand your horizons through learning kung fu, you’re probably wondering which kung fu style you should practice. And with a form of martial art that dates back thousands of years, it’s really no surprise that there are almost countless sub styles found within this exciting realm. Kung fu styles are further diversified from their origins by a school or sect’s individual philosophies and beliefs. Each group applies their own particular methods to the overall foundation of kung fu to deliver seemingly slight but certainly significant alterations in certain poses, moves, throws, jumps, kicks and rolls.

Another significant variation is the attacks that are incorporated in that specific school. For example, some schools carry a much heavier inclusion of weapons in their teachings than other schools, while other sects hold that the art should be used as strictly defensive measures. All of these different schools then create a unique style that combines their own principles with the major approaches of kung fu as a whole. The main dogmas of kung fu usually ring true, but the mutations that have come from these splits is quite exciting.

One of the most well known forms of kung fu comes from the Shaolin monastery. The monks of shaolin emphasize the natural movements of animals in their teachings of kung fu, imparting the importance of mimicking the gracefulness of a cat, the aggressiveness of a tiger and much more.

The spectrum of kung fu styles is too great to give if full justice here, but don’t hesitate to ask a school directly about their style or look up more information in the learning center.

Related Information

Chinese Kung Fu
Chinese kung fu teaches mental discipline and fosters self-control.

Kung Fu Weapons
Training with kung fu weapons dates back thousands of years to Chinese military training.